Presuming to fill in David's picture just a bit, there is one slightly different but related reason some Scots went to Ulster. In Scotland, the law of primogeniture dictated that the eldest son inherit the father's land. So, younger sons of landed families (called cadets) gladly went to Ireland as part of the Ulster plantation to make their own fortune. They did not necessarily go for hire but to own a bit of land of their own. For example, Scots David Lynn and John Lynn, who appear to be cadets of the Lynns of that Ilk in Dalry, Ayrshire, went to Ulster in 1616 or earlier and settled on the estate of Dunnalong in County Tyrone, which had been granted to the Earl of Abercorn. In 1622, John Lynn was listed as a "freeholder" on the Dunnalong estate. Now, the Earl's brother-in-law, Sir Thomas Boyd, was a fifth son of the then Lord Boyd of Kilmarnock (Ayrshire), and he had been granted the property adjacent to Abercorn's. Notably, the Lynns and the Boyds were associated in Ayrshire through various land transactions, both before and after 1616, and I believe it was that association which enabled the younger Lynns to "make their fortune." in Ulster. Loretta -----Original Message----- From: cotyroneireland-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:cotyroneireland-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Joy Hogg Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2009 10:16 AM To: cotyroneireland@rootsweb.com Subject: [CoTyIre] History behind our history I am getting GREAT reflections regarding  my question about why a Scots would leave Scotland in the late 1700s and migrate to Tyrone. What was the economy like and what sort of work would a young man get upon arriving? Ag lab? ...